(NEW YORK) — As inflation continues to worry Americans, Aldi CEO Jason Hart said the discount grocery chain is focused on keeping grocery prices low as the summer season heats up.
Hart joined ABC News’ Good Morning America live Thursday to discuss the summer grocery outlook ahead of Memorial Day.
“We don’t really focus on what the competition is doing. We’re focused on what consumers want and need,” Hart said. “Before the consumer was stressed with inflation, we were still about low prices, but those low prices become even more important as value is even more top of mind for the consumer.”
“So our actions are all based on consumer demand,” Hart continued. “We’re always looking for opportunities to lower prices to reduce our cost of doing business, to reduce our cost of product and to lean in on our lower prices. So that’s what we’re all about.”
Earlier this month, Aldi announced it would cut prices on over 250 summer essentials, including barbecue basics like chicken and steak and other family favorites like frozen blueberries and granola bars.
“It’s focused on, as you can imagine, fresh meat, snacks for the summer road trip and our fresh meat prices are lower than they were last year and our sales are up 30%,” Hart said, adding that low prices are part of the “DNA” of Aldi. “We’ve got our boneless, skinless chicken breasts at $2.19 a pound. Since we’ve marked that product down, it’s up 50% in movement and that’s just showing the popularity of low prices and the popularity of Aldi is as high as it’s ever been.”
Other major stores followed suit, including Walmart and Target, with the Minneapolis-based store saying it would lower prices on 5,000 items, including “everyday items” such as milk, meat, fresh fruit, vegetables and snacks.
Hart said lower prices are driving Aldi’s growth. The discount grocery chain announced this May it would open 800 more stores over the course of the next five years, especially in the Southeast.
“Twenty-five percent of U.S. customers now shop at Aldi. That’s twice what it was just six years ago,” Hart said. “And Aldi’s built to fight inflation. Our business model, which is based on simplicity and efficiency, really provides savings for customers and also saves them time when they’re shopping with their grocery lists.”
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